


Moving On Up

by redderhood25



Category: Glee
Genre: Anxiety, Beards (Relationships), Depression, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Internalized Homophobia, Multi, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:07:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25160614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redderhood25/pseuds/redderhood25
Summary: A month ago, Santana Lopez was living in Lima Heights Adjacent and going to West Lima High, where the graduation rate dropped every year. Now, here she is, starting at William McKinley High and living in the nice part of town. She has everything. Friends, popularity, maybe even a crush. But can she handle all the pressure? Or will her slew of mental issues overcome her, and send her in a downward spiral that can only end in the darkest parts of her mind?Brittany had never met anyone like Santana, but now that she has, she'll do anything to get close to her. Just her luck, she isn't the only one with her eye on the mysterious new girl. And mysterious she is. Brittany knows Santana is full of hidden feelings and secrets. If only she could unlock them.(Mostly follows Santana but a few chapters will be focused on Brittany)
Relationships: Artie Abrams/Brittany S. Pierce, David Karofsky/Santana Lopez, Quinn Fabray/Finn Hudson, Quinn Fabray/Noah Puckerman, Rachel Berry/Finn Hudson, Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce
Comments: 13
Kudos: 59





	1. The First Day

Santana walked through the doors of William McKinley High for the first time, and instantly missed West Lima High. Sure, there had been tiles missing and the walls had been cracked. Yeah, the lockers were always jammed and the lights flickered. But at least at West Lima she knew everybody and everybody knew her. Here, she was a nobody. The mysterious new girl from Lima Heights Adjacent. Here, she only knew one person and only one person knew her. But all of that would change. Soon she would run this overly preppy place. She just had to survive her first day.

“Santana! Hey, over here!” Puck called from his locker. Noah Puckerman was the only person here that she knew. They had grown up in Lima Heights Adjacent together, and stayed in touch even after Puck moved across town. He was the only one that knew why she was here.

“Hey Puck,” she said, walking over to his locker. “This place is way nicer than West Lima.”

“Everything on this side of town is nicer than in Lima Heights,” Puck laughs, shutting his locker. “Except maybe the people.” He stands, leading her down the hallway and to her locker. “So, what do you have first?” He asks as she opens the locker on the first try.

“Holy shit it opened.” Puck laughs again. 

“I guess West Lima really did suck, huh?”

“Yeah,” Santana nods, looking at her schedule. “I have geometry first,” she tells Puck.

“Great, I do too. We can bully the loser that sits next to me so we can sit together.”

“Cool,” Santana laughs, getting her things for her first few classes and slamming the locker shut. The two walk to geometry and take seats in the back. Whoever sat next to Puck wasn’t there yet, so no one said anything.

“Excuse me ma’am, who are you?” The teacher asks.

“I’m new,” is all Santana says.

“Ah, you must be miss Lopez. I’m Mr. Norwell. I assume Mr. Puckerman will fill you in?” Puck nods, and Mr. Norwell turns to his laptop.

“So, what do you have second period?”

“Uh… next I have english, then history, then spanish and A lunch.”

“Great, I have A lunch too. You can sit with me and my friends.”

“We’ll see about that,” Santana says, looking at her schedule again. “Fifth I have study hall, then sixth is gym and seventh is chemistry.”

“Damn, you got the Cheerios gym period,” Puck says, grinning.

Santana looks confused. “What the fuck is the Cheerios gym period? Like the breakfast cereal?”

Puck laughs. “No, the Cheerios are the cheerleaders. Didn’t you pay attention to them at my games?”

“I mean, I looked over at them once or twice, but I don’t care about cheerleaders. They’re mostly stuck up bitches.”

“True, but they’re stuck up bitches in short skirts,” Puck points out. He already knew Santana was a lesbian, he had been the first person she told. She had told him after they kissed for the first time, and Puck remembers how terrified she had been of his reaction. Of course, he was nothing but supportive of his best friend. He wanted her to be happy.

“Doesn’t matter how short the skirt is, though that does help.”

Puck’s about to say something back, but the bell rings and Mr. Norwell starts class.

Santana manages to lie low for most of the day, sitting in the back of her classes and walking with Puck in the hall. She does get approached a few times by people looking for new friends, but she can easily tell when she won’t like someone. That’s why when an annoying short girl named Rachel Berry tries to introduce herself, she calls her a hobbit and tells her to fuck off. She’s also approached by an obviously gay boy named Kurt, but he’s slightly less annoying, so she talks to him during history. It isn’t until spanish that she has her first run in with a cheerleader.

“You must be Santana, the new student,” the teacher says when she walks in, stopping her at the door. “My name is Mr. Schue. Why don’t you take a seat next to Quinn and Brittany. They’re the girls in the Cheerios uniforms.”

Santana is confused as to why Mr. Schue is teaching spanish, seeing as he doesn’t seem like a native speaker, but doesn’t say anything. Instead, she goes to sit next to the two blondes in the mini skirts.

“Hi, I’m Brittany!” The taller of the two says brightly. She’s pretty, Santana will admit. She has long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a bubbly personality. She’s not Santana’s usual type though.

“Santana,” she says. “I’m new.”

“I’m Quinn. I’ve seen you hanging around with Puck all day. You two know each other?” The other girl says. Santana hears a note of accusation in her voice, and laughs.

“Relax, blondie. Puck is just a friend, we grew up together.” Quinn is still glaring at her though. “I’m not trying to steal your boyfriend,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I play for a different team.”

Quinn’s eyes widen and Santana smirks. “Okay, first of all Puck isn’t my boyfriend. He’s my boyfriend’s best friend. Second of all he’s never mentioned you.”

“Wait, do you mean you’re gay?” Brittany asks, and Santana can’t help but smile.

“Yep. That a problem with you guys?” Santana watches both Quinn and Brittany closely. Quinn continues to glare, but Brittany brightens.

“Nope! I like guys and girls.”

“Okay, really. Who the hell are you?” Quinn asks angrily.

“I’m an old friend of Puck’s, and I prefer the ladies. That’s all you need to know, blondie,” is all Santana says before Mr. Schue gets their attention.

After spanish, Santana heads over to her locker to meet Puck before lunch. After he begged some more between classes, she finally agreed to sit with him and his friends.

“Hey, you ready?” Puck asks, leaning against the locker next to hers. Santana nods, and the two head to the cafeteria.

“Wow,” Santana says. “This is waaaaay cleaner than the one at West Lima has ever been.”

“Yeah, well this is the nice part of town,” Puck laughs, leading her to a table with a strange mix of students.

When Puck had told her she could sit with his friends, Santana had been expecting jocks and Cheerios. What she hadn’t been expecting was the annoying girl Rachel, the gay boy Kurt, some tall, innocent looking jock sitting between a kid in a wheel chair and Quinn, Brittany sitting next to a girl with a diva vibe about her, and a tiny asian girl sandwiched between two quiet jocks.

“Guys, this is my friend, Santana. She’s new,” Puck says, taking a seat next to the asian jock and gesturing for Santana to sit.

“Hey Quinn, it’s the lesbian from spanish!” Brittany says excitedly. Santana grins, she likes this girl.

Rachel narrows her eyes. “You’re the girl that called me a hobbit and told me to fuck off.”

Quinn laughs. “You really did that?”

Santana shrugs. “Guilty.”

“You didn’t tell me you were gay!” Kurt exclaims suddenly. He had been staring at her since Brittany had called her a lesbian, wondering if the blonde had misspoken, but Santana didn’t deny it.

“Yep. Raging homosexual here.” They all laugh, and Santana laughs with them. Puck tells her all their names, and that they met through glee club. “Glee?” She laughs when she hears that. “You never told me you could sing! Now I gotta hear it!”

“Well, you could always join,” Mercedes, the girl next to Brittany says.

Santana shakes her head. “No way. I am not singing.”

“Come on,” Puck begs. “We need a twelfth member, and you said you needed a way to get out of spending time with your dad and stepmom. Glee is the perfect way to do it.”

“Yeah,” Brittany says. “And then maybe Quinn and me can get you on the Cheerios so we can hang out all the time!”

Santana rolls her eyes. “Fine. I’ll join the glee club.” They all cheer, happy to finally have their final member.

Santana ends up having study hall with Brittany, and spends the hour-long period talking to the girl about the way things at McKinley work. She learns that even though the football team sucks, they rule the school, along with the Cheerios of course. She also learns about the tradition of the football players throwing slushies in the faces of the glee club members. She’s not looking forward to that, but she knows she can take it. She grew up in Lima Heights and had experienced things way worse than a slushie to the face. After study hall, Brittany walked with Santana to gym. They also met up with Quinn, who seemed to have warmed up to Santana during lunch, along the way and walked with her too.

“So how would you feel about joining the Cheerios?” Quinn asks as the three walk down the hall. “You seem to be in shape enough for it, and it would give you a lot of status here.”

“I don’t know. Won’t some people be uncomfortable because I’m a lesbian?” Santana asks, unsure.

“No way!” Brittany says. “Everyone knows I enjoy sweet lady kisses just as much as I like kissing boys, but they’re okay with me being on the team.”

Santana smiles. “Okay, maybe I’ll consider it, but only if you could actually get me on the team.”

“Great!” Quinn says. “I’ll talk to coach Sylvester today. See you later!” The two blondes wave to Santana as they split off to their different locker rooms.

Santana spends the gym period running around the track and trying not to be too obvious while checking out the girl Cheerios. She knows she shouldn’t be looking at them like that, but it’s hard not to. Especially when Brittany’s legs seem to go on for miles under that skirt. After class, she meets Quinn and Brittany in the hall so they can walk to chemistry together, since they’re in the same class. 

“So, I talked to coach Sylvester, and she’s willing to let you try out on friday after school,” Quinn tells her.

“Friday works for me,” Santana says, not nearly as excited as Quinn or Brittany. The latter is practically bouncing with joy, already talking about the sleepovers the three will have together once Santana is made a Cheerio. She doesn’t stop talking about it until their chemistry teacher, Mrs. Khan starts class.

After a long first day, Santana is ready to go home. She’s about to do exactly that when Quinn and Brittany remind her of her promise to join the glee club. So she makes her way to the choir room with the two blondes and is surprised to find her spanish teacher is also in charge of the glee club.

“Santana!” The man says excitedly when the three walk in. “Puck said you wanted to join. Do you have a song to audition with?”

“Uh…” Fuck. She should’ve thought about this. She scrambles for a moment, before the perfect song comes to mind. “Yeah, I do.” She tells the band what song she wants to sing and stands before the entire glee club. She takes a deep breath, and begins to sing.

“Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl  
But she doesn't have a lot to say  
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl  
But she changes from day to day  
I want to tell her that I love her a lot  
But I gotta get a bellyful of wine  
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl  
Someday I'm going to make her mine, oh yeah  
Someday I'm going to make her mine”

Her Majesty was a short song, but one of Santana’s favorites by the Beatles. When she was done singing, everyone clapped and cheered, and Brittany even hugged her.

“That was amazing Santana!” Mr. Schue says with a huge smile on his face.

“You never told me you could actually sing,” Puck says. “Now we’re even.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Santana laughs as she’s dragged by Brittany to the back row of seats. 

“Now we just need to get you on the Cheerios, and we can be best friends!” Brittany says excitedly, and Santana can’t help but grin at her enthusiasm. It’s completely adorable.

And maybe, just maybe, Santana feels a flutter in her heart when Brittany grins back.


	2. Mystery Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brittany's first thoughts on Santana.

When Brittany sees her walk in, she almost trips. This mystery girl must be new, because Brittany would remember someone like that. Beautiful, naturally tanned skin. Long black hair cascading down her shoulder. Intense brown eyes taking everything in. Brittany watches the mystery girl walk down the hall in complete awe, captivated by her. 

“Santana!” She hears Puck call from his locker. She looks over at him and sees him waving to mystery girl, who she guessed was Santana. The girl grins and goes over to Puck, and immediately, Brittany is saddedend. Puck must be her boyfriend, which meant she had no chance with her.

“Are you okay Britt?” Quinn asks from next to her, wondering why her friend has suddenly gone silent.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Brittany says absently, watching Santana walk down the hall with Puck. They hadn’t kissed or even hugged, so maybe they weren’t dating.

“What the hell are you staring at?” Quinn asks, following Brittany’s gaze to Puck and Santana. “And who the hell is with Puck?” She mutters, narrowing her eyes. Not that Brittany notices, she’s too busy watching Santana put things in her locker.

“I wonder where she’s from,” Brittany says. “We should try talking to her.”

“Puck will probably have her sit with us at lunch,” Quinn says, still watching the two. “I wonder if she’s his girlfriend.”

Brittany shakes her head. “I don’t think so. They didn’t kiss or hold hands or anything.”

“Hmmm. Let’s go, before we’re late again, we’ll probably run into her later.”

But they don’t run into Santana later. They see her in the halls, walking with Puck, but she’s not in either of their classes. Or at least, not until spanish. 

They both got to class early today, wanting to see if Santana would be there too. When she walked in, Brittany instantly smiled. She was excited to talk to Santana, to meet her. She wanted to know if Santana liked girls too, but she figured it’d be best to start as friends. She practically fell out of her seat with joy when Mr. Schue told Santana to sit with her and Quinn, but managed to contain her happiness to a smile instead.

“Hi! I’m Brittany,” she says, excited to finally be talking to Santana.

“Santana,” she says, and Brittany loves the way her name sounds. “I’m new.”

“I’m Quinn. I’ve seen you hanging around with Puck all day. You two know each other?” Quinn sounds mad at Santana, which confuses Brittany. Why would Quinn be mad at Santana for hanging out with Puck? She was dating Finn.

“Relax, blondie. Puck is just a friend, we grew up together.” Quinn glares at Santana, and Brittany knows she’s trying to figure her out. “I’m not trying to steal your boyfriend,” Santana says, rolling her eyes. Brittany thinks she looks very cute when she does that. “I play for a different team.”

Brittany doesn’t hear whatever Quinn says next. All she can focus on is the fact that Santana may have just said she was gay. But she had to be sure.

“Wait, do you mean you’re gay?” she asks. Santana smiles, which Brittany also finds cute.

“Yep. That a problem with you guys?” Brittany can see a look in Santana’s eyes, a look that challenges them to say something homophobic.

Brittany just smiles brighter than before. “Nope! I like guys and girls.”

“Okay, really. Who the hell are you?” Quinn asks angrily, though Brittany still can’t figure out why she’s so mad.

“I’m an old friend of Puck’s, and I prefer the ladies. That’s all you need to know, blondie,” Santana says. Brittany knows Quinn is about to say more, but Mr. Schue calls for their attention and the conversation is over.

Brittany can’t pay attention during spanish, she’s too busy sneaking looks at Santana when she’s not looking. She wants so badly to be at least friends with this girl, and when the bell rings signaling the time for lunch, she hopes Puck brings her to their table.

Her wish is granted when Santana and Puck walk up to the table and Puck introduces her to the glee club. Brittany can tell Santana wasn’t expecting this mix of people, but she knows Santana will fit in here. 

“Hey Quinn, it’s the lesbian from spanish!” She says excitedly when Santana sits down. She can’t believe it! Santana is sitting with them, meaning there are high chances they can be friends now. Santana smiles at her, and she decides to try to make the girl smile all the time. Her smile is amazing. 

Again, Brittany can’t pay attention during lunch, too busy sneaking looks at Santana. They laugh and talk the entire time, and Brittany can tell everyone likes her, even Quinn. When they convince Santana to join glee club, Brittany can’t help but tell her about her desire to become best friends, she’s so happy. She’s even happier when she learns she has her last few classes with Santana. That means she gets to spend half the day with her. Now she just has to get closer to Santana.

After convincing Santana to try out for the Cheerios, Brittany and Quinn tell coach Sylvester about her. At first, Sue is skeptical. She hadn’t planned on letting anyone new in, but Quinn managed to convince her. She told Sue that Santana was brutally honest, which Puck had revealed during several stories about his and Santana’s adventures in Lima Heights. Puck had also revealed that Santana had taken ballet and gymnastics for years, which they also relayed to Sue. That information, plus the fact that one of their star Cheerios had to get knee surgery and wouldn’t be able to compete, had convinced her to let Santana try out on friday.

During chemistry, all Brittany can think about is Santana being a Cheerio. That meant she would go to Cheerio camp, and competitions out of town, and be at the Cheerio sleepovers and parties. Then, Brittany could get closer to her and become her best friend and hopefully more. She’s also excited for glee today, because she’ll get to hear Santana sing. She just knows it will be a beautiful sound.

And she’s right. Santana sings Her Majesty by the Beatles. It’s a short song, and it’s fast, but the way Santana sings it is amazing. Her voice has just the right amount of raspiness, and Brittany can just tell by the look on her face that the song means something to her. It’s like when Santana sings, she lets down her walls and lets people see her true feelings. Brittany loves it. She could watch Santana sing all day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically a shorter version of the first chapter from Brittany's point of view. I won't be doing chapters like this all the time, but I thought it was important to the story to see Brittany's reactions.


	3. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santana has her first run in with the jocks of McKinley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning- The d-slur is used twice at the beginning of this chapter

Wednesday is the day Santana first experiences getting slushied.

She’s walking to the choir room for study hall with Kurt, Rachel, and Tina when it happens. A group of jocks walk towards them, slushies in hand, and her three friends tense before all four of them are hit with cherry flavored ice. Santana gasps and just stands there for a moment, shocked. Then the anger overtakes her.

“What the hell was that?” She asks, her eyes flaring as she turns to face the jocks, who are laughing and staring as they walk away. They stop, still laughing.

“It’s just a warm welcome to the glee club, dyke,” One of the bigger ones laughs.

Santana’s eyes widen slightly. She’s getting angrier by the second. “The fuck did you just call me?” She steps closer to them.

“Santana, no-” Kurt says, trying to hold her back, but she’s too angry to be stopped now.

“I said you’re a dyke,” the jock laughs. But he isn’t laughing for long, because Santana’s fist connects with his nose, making him stumble back. 

“Don’t ever say that word again, asshole,” she spits, turning into the bathroom to get cleaned up. Her friends follow, speechless after what just happened.

“You just punched Karofsky in the face…” Tina says in amazement as she watches Santana calmly wash the slushy off of her.

“You’re gonna get suspended,” Rachel says, her eyes wide.

Santana shrugs. “I’ll deal with it as it comes. Won’t be the first time I’ve gotten in trouble, and it sure as hell won’t be the last.” She finishes cleaning herself up then turns to Kurt, who seems to be frozen, and helps wash him off too.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” he whispers. “What if you broke his nose?”

“I don’t think I punched him that hard,” Santana says shaking her head. “Besides, even if I did, he deserved it. He shouldn’t be allowed to call me that.”

“You are the coolest person I’ve ever met,” Tina says, grinning now. “You just punched Dave Karofsky in the face!”

Santana grins back. “Sure did, and I’ll do it again too.”

“I can’t believe you,” Rachel says, laughing slightly and shaking her head as she fixes her hair and makeup. By now all four of them are clean. They leave the bathroom together, still laughing all the way to the choir room. Their laughter dies down when they see Principal Figgins waiting for them there with Mr. Schue.

“Ah, shit,” Santana mutters.

Mr. Schue gives the girl a hard look. “Santana, is it true that you punched Dave Karofsky in the face?”

Behind him, everyone’s eyes widen. 

“He deserved it,” Santana shrugs, trying to act nonchalant. Inside, she’s slightly panicking.

“Miss Lopez, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me,” Principal Figgins says seriously. Santana shrugs again and follows him out, leaving the rest of the glee club speechless.

“Principal Figgins, wait!” Rachel calls, running into the hall. Both Santana and Figgins turn back. “I think Kurt, Tina, and I should be there as well, seeing as we witnessed what happened.”

Figgins sighs. “Very well, you three can come too.” Santana smiles, happy that she’ll have her friends to back her up. Rachel gets Kurt and TIna, and the four follow FIggins to his office.

Karofsky is already there, sitting in one of the chairs in front of Figgins’ desk. Santana takes the other chair, and Kurt, Rachel, and Tina take the couch. Karofsky seems to be angry, but it’s hard to tell because of the ice pack he’s holding against his face. 

“So, why don’t we start with Miss Lopez’s side of the story,” Principal Figgins says, gesturing to Santana.

“Well, I was just walking to the choir room for study hall with Kurt, Rachel and Tina, cause we were gonna decide on a setlist for sectionals. Then Karofsky here and a bunch of other jocks whose names I don’t know cause it’s my third day came up to us and threw slushies in our faces,” Santana says, remembering to include smaller details that would help her get out of this. “Now, I had been warned that this was common practice at this school. The jocks apparently like to throw slushies at glee kids all the time, and they don’t get punished. That surprised me, cause McKinley is supposed to be a better school than West Lima, but I guess not, cause at West Lima that would never happen. But anyways, I got angry, as expected, and I asked them what that was about. Then Karofsky here,” she glares at the boy. “Told me it was ‘just a warm welcome to the glee club’. And then he called me a dyke, which, if you don’t know, is a homophobic slur. So, I asked him to repeat himself, just to be sure I wasn’t hearing things, and then he said it again so I punched him.”

“I see,” Principal Figgins says, a pensive look on his face. “Now, I assume what miss Lopez has said is true, David?” He turns to look at Karofsky, who looks even angrier.

“So what if it’s true! She punched me in the face!”

“Yes, but you also instigated the violence by tossing slushies in the faces of your fellow students!” Figgins says, sounding agitated. “And miss Lopez is right! This slushy-ing has gone on for far too long! Neither Carmel nor West Lima High have this kind of problem! McKinley is supposed to be a place where students can feel safe, not worry about getting icy beverages thrown in their faces!”

“So what are you gonna do to us?” Santana asks, knowing she’s played her cards right and lessened the punishment.

“I will require you both to serve a one hour detention this saturday, and if there are any more incidents like this one, you will be suspended for one week,” Figgins says. Santana pretends to be upset, but she couldn’t be happier. It had been so easy to manipulate him into giving them a smaller punishment.

“But I have a game on saturday!” Karofsky exclaims, clearly more upset than Santana.

“Fine, then you can serve your one hour on tuesday. I know you don’t have practice or games then.” This just got better and better for Santana. “Now, David I would like you to apologize to these four students, and Santana if you could apologize to David.”

“Sorry I punched you in the face,” Santana says, faking sincerity.

“Sorry I slushied you all,” David grumbles, still angry.

“Good. Now you may all return to study hall.”

“How did you not get suspended?” Kurt asks in disbelief once Karofsky is out of earshot.

“I played my cards right,” Santana says, laughing.

“I can’t believe you,” Rachel says, shaking her head.

“I swear, I get more and more impressed with you by the minute!” Tina laughs as they walk into the choir room.

“What can I say, I’m just that amazing.”

“What happened?” Puck asks. The entire room had stopped talking, and they were all staring at them.

Kurt tells them the story, and they’re all staring at Santana in disbelief by the end of it.

“He really called you that?” Quinn asks.

“And you really punched him in the face?” Mercedes adds.

“And you didn’t get suspended?” Artie says, the disbelief evident in his voice.

“You pick up a few things at West Lima,” Santana says cryptically, grinning as she takes a seat next to Brittany.

“You are the awesomest person I’ve ever met,” Brittany smiles. Santana laughs a little, feeling that tiny flutter in her heart once more.

“Thanks Britt,” she says, the nickname slipping out. She worries for a moment that she overstepped, but Brittany brightens. In that moment, Santana knows the two of them will become the best of friends. She’s not sure if she’s excited or terrified.


	4. Quinn's Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santana helps Quinn with a big problem.

Friday morning, Santana woke up earlier than usual. She was nervous for today, because after school was her Cheerios try out. That’s why she decided to take two anxiety pills instead of one. 

She had been on anxiety medication since she was in fourth grade, and antidepressants on and off since she was in seventh grade. She had most recently started back up with the antidepressants last month, when she had moved in with her dad. No one at school except the counselor, Ms. Pillsbury, and Puck knew about her medication. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of it, per se, but she thought that if people knew, they would treat her differently. She didn’t need that, so she kept her mental struggles to herself, and nobody suspected she even had struggles.

She got dressed then headed downstairs for coffee. She didn’t think she could stomach eating. Santana didn’t really understand why she was nervous. She hadn’t been nervous to audition for glee club, but she guessed that was different. The glee club was full of people that were weirdos and outcasts in their own way, and wouldn’t judge her. Plus, she had always known she had a good voice. The Cheerios, however, were different. She had been watching them all week, and had seen the way they talked to other people. She had also seen the way they talked about other people, behind their backs. That’s what stressed her out. She could handle being insulted to her face, it happened all the time. But not knowing what people said about her when she wasn’t there freaked her out. That’s why it had taken her so long to come to terms with her sexuality. She was about to decide to just skip school for the day and not try out when her phone dinged.

Britt: hey you up

Santana: yeah what’s up

Britt: just wanted to remind you about your try out today

Britt: i’m super excited!!! i know you’ll make it :)

Santana smiles at Brittany’s enthusiasm. She was very quickly falling for the girl, but she wasn’t sure if Brittany felt the same or if she was just that nice.

Santana: i’m excited too lol. i hope i make it cause then we get to hang out more

Britt: i know i can’t wait!!!!

Britt: i gotta go now Lord Tubbington needs to be fed. i’ll talk to you at school though.

Santana: cool see you later

Britt: bye :)

Santana decides then that she does want to go to school, and quickly drinks her coffee before heading out early. It was a good thing she was early too, because right as she got in her car Quinn texted, asking for a ride. She drove over to her house to find Quinn already waiting on the porch. She quickly got in the car, a distracted look on her face.

“Hey, you okay?” Santana asks worriedly, even though she knows Quinn is most definitely not okay.

“Can you just drive to school. I need to get out of here.” Santana nods, backing out of Quinn’s driveway. 

They’re silent the entire drive. Santana keeps sneaking worried glances at Quinn, but she’s just staring straight ahead. Finally they get to school and Santana parks. They sit in silence for a moment, neither of them moving.

“If I tell you something, can you promise me you won’t tell anyone else?” Quinn suddenly asks.

“Of course,” Santana nods, confusion overtaking her face. Whatever Quinn has to say must be important, but what could it be?

Quinn takes a deep breath before looking at Santana. “I think I’m pregnant.”

Santana’s eyes go wide. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Have you gone to see a doctor yet?”

Quinn shakes her head. “No. But my period is a week and a half late and the pregnancy test came back positive.”

“Oh fuck.” Santana shakes her head. “Fuck. Does anyone else know?”

“You’re the first person I’ve told. I know we’re not really friends, but I- I figured you wouldn’t tell anyone and you wouldn’t judge me for it or anything.”

“Of course I won’t tell anyone, and I definitely won’t judge you. But don’t you think you should tell Finn, I mean he is the father.” Something in Quinn’s eyes when she mentions Finn makes Santana have doubts about his paternity. “Finn is the father, right?”

Quinn has tears in her eyes as she shakes her head once more. “No.”

Santana’s eyes go wide again. “Holy shit. Who is it then?”

Quinn looks away. “The baby’s Puck’s. I cheated on Finn with his best friend. I’m a terrible person.”

Santana sighs. “Okay, look. I don’t in any way condone cheating, especially because it kinda ruined my life, but I won’t tell Finn.”

Quinn looks at her in surprise. “You won’t?”

“No,” Santana says, shaking her head. “Finn is gonna be really hurt when he finds out, and trust me he will find out, but he’s gonna be even more hurt if he finds out from someone that isn’t you. He’s gonna be angry. Angry at you, and at Puck, and probably at himself. He’s also gonna feel betrayed, and sad, and like he wasn’t enough for you. That’s why it has to be you that tells him, cause if he finds out from Puck, or me, or Kurt, or Berry, or anyone, he’s gonna think you were never gonna tell him, and he’s gonna be even angrier.”

“You sound like you speak from experience,” Quinn says shakily.

“That’s because I do,” Santana says, contemplating how much to share. “Look, not many people know this, but there’s a reason I hate my dad.”

“What is it?”

“When I was five, my dad got a promotion at Lima General Hospital, and we had enough money to move out of Lima Heights. For about a year, everything was great. We were happy and living the high life,” Santana begins, deciding she may as well tell Quinn everything. “Fast forward a bit, and I’m six years old. My dad has a week long work convention in Columbus. That’s where he met my stepmother, Maria. Now, my mom and I didn’t know this at the time, but during that convention, my dad and Maria became friends. Then my dad found out she only lived thirty minutes outside of Lima, and they began a romantic relationship.”

“But didn’t she know he was married?” Quinn asks.

Santana shakes her head. “No. He took off his ring the entire trip, and didn’t mention my mom and I at all. The next few months, things changed. He was home less and less, always making excuses as to why he couldn’t be there. He was swamped at work. An old friend was passing through town and he had to see them. There was an emergency with one of his patients. They were obvious lies, and my mom suspected something was up from the start, but she didn’t say anything. Acknowledging it would make it true.” Santana pauses for a moment, seemingly lost in the bad memories.

“And then what happened?” Quinn prompts quietly after a moment.

“Maria found out about my mom and me,” Santana says. “And all my dad’s lies came crashing down. She showed up one day, while my dad was at work. She was crying. I remember my mom sending me up to my room, but I could still hear Maria as she explained all about my dad’s infidelity. And then she said she loved him, and that she was pregnant with his child. We were moved back in with my abuela in Lima Heights by the end of the week.”

“Your dad chose her over you and your mom?” Quinn asks quietly.

Santana nods. “Yeah. I didn’t really understand it at first, but then my halfbrother was born. I remember feeling so angry and hurt, like I hadn’t been enough for my dad, so he had to leave and start a new family. He didn’t fight that hard to get custody of me, so I ended up living with my mom and abuela most of the time and only seeing him every other weekend.” Santana shakes her head, laughing slightly now. “You wanna know what the worst part was? He didn’t even try to get to know me after that. It was Maria that always made the effort. All he did was pay for the stuff I wanted that my mom and abuela couldn’t afford. I lived in poverty for ten years because of him, and he didn’t even make an effort to know me. He still doesn’t. I live with him full time now and he still doesn’t know a damn thing.”

“Why do you live with him full time now?”

Santana shakes her head again. “That’s a long story, and not really relevant to this whole cheating on Finn thing. My point is, the longer you wait to tell him, the more it’s gonna hurt. And if you don’t tell him soon, there’s a high chance it’ll come from somebody else, cause people are gonna find out. Then he’ll feel like the world’s biggest idiot.”

Quinn sighs. “I’ll tell him this weekend. Thanks for helping me with all this Santana.”

Santana smiles. “Anytime, blondie.” With that the two get out of the car and head inside to their respective first periods. When Santana sees Puck, she acts as if everything’s normal, keeping true to her promise to Quinn that she wouldn’t tell anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter four. What do you guys think so far?


	5. Cheerios Try Outs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santana tries out for the Cheerios and meets someone new.

Even though she took two anxiety pills that morning, Santana was still nervous. So nervous, in fact, that at lunch time she only ate after several minutes of begging from Brittany. It only got worse as the day wore on. 

By the end of seventh period, she was shaking.

“Hey, you okay?” Brittany asks. 

Santana nods. “Yeah. Just a little nervous.”

“You’ll do fine,” Quinn smiles. Both she and Brittany had offered to walk Santana to her try out. Quinn had to be there anyway to help coach Sylvester judge, and Brittany was gonna sit in and watch to give moral support.

Santana takes a deep breath. “You’re right. I got this,” she says. “I’m gonna go stretch in the locker room, but I’ll see you guys in the gym.”

“Good luck!” Brittany calls as the two blondes walk away. Santana smiles and waves before rushing into the locker room. 

She immediately takes another anxiety pill to try and calm down. After several rounds of breathing exercises to calm herself down, Santana stops shaking. She quickly changes into her gym clothes and stretches before heading into the gym.

“So, you’re the amazing Santana Lopez my two stars have been telling me about,” coach Sylvester says. Santana nods. “Alright Lopez. Show us what you got.”

Santana shows off her flexibility and ability to gracefully tumble for three minutes before Sue tells her to stop.

“I’ve seen enough. Brittany, get this girl a uniform and a locker.” Santana’s eyes go wide as Brittany runs up and hugs her, cheering.

“Holy shit,” she mumbles in disbelief. Quinn is grinning now, and even Sue is smiling.

“Welcome to the Cheerios Lopez.”

Brittany takes Santana to the Cheerios locker room and gives her the locker next to hers. She also gives Santana a Cheerios uniform, duffle bag, binder, water bottle, training schedule, and diet plan.

“I knew you could do it!” She says excitedly as Santana tries on her uniform. “You were totally amazing!”

“Thanks Britt,” Santana laughs. “How do I look?”

“Amazingly hot,” Brittany says, giggling. Santana blushes slightly, unsure if Brittany is flirting or not.

“She sure does,” a voice says behind them. Santana turns to see a pretty girl with short, white blonde hair standing in the doorway. She’s a Cheerio too, judging by the uniform. “Hi. I’m Ezra,” the girl says, walking over to Santana.

“Santana.”

“Heard you punched Karofsky in the face. Nice job,” Ezra says, and Santana swears she’s checking her out.

“Thanks. Though I would’ve figured a girl like you is best friends with a guy like him.” Ezra smirks.

“He’s not really my type, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh really?” Santana says, returning the smirk. “And what exactly is your type?”

“Well that’s for me to know and you to find out, isn’t it?” With that, Ezra turns and leaves.

“I don’t really like Ezra,” Brittany pouts. Santana looks at her, remembering suddenly that she’s still there.

“Why not?” She asks, confused.

Brittany just shrugs. “She made fun of Lord Tubbington.”

“You know, I still haven’t met Lord Tubbington,” Santana says, knowing that talking about her cat will cheer Brittany up.

She’s right, as Brittany immediately brightens. “You should come over, and we can have a sleepover tonight!”

“You know I would love to Britt, but I have that detention at eight a.m. tomorrow,” Santana says, smiling softly.

“Well, how about you come over tomorrow after your detention and we can hang out. That way you can still meet Lord Tubbington!”

“That sounds great.” Brittany smiles, hugging Santana once more. And once again, Santana feels something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hope you guys are enjoying this so far. School is starting up in like a week, so I won't be able to write as often. I have a lot of chapters pre-written, but I may have to slow down on the updates so I don't get overwhelmed with school and writing.


	6. Meet the Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santana goes through detention and has a nasty run in with someone.

Santana doesn’t tell her dad or Maria about her detention. Not that either of them ask. Everyone in the house is asleep when Santana wakes up at 7:30, which is surprising, since the twins were usually screaming by then. But they had stayed up late last night after sneaking candy from the kitchen and being too hyper to sleep, so it made sense. Bianca and Gabby were five, and oftentimes annoyed Santana, but she loved them. She loved her half brother Mateo too. Not that she would ever admit any of this, of course, but it was true.

Santana was looking forward to today, despite the detention. She was going to Brittany’s house, and she was excited to spend more time with the girl. Brittany was very slowly creeping her way into Santana’s heart, and every second spent with her was amazing. That’s why she couldn’t help but smile at the good morning text she received from her.

Britt: good morning! i figured you’d be up because of the detention. i hope it isn’t too boring, but at least we get to hang out after!

Santana: i know! i can’t wait to meet Lord Tubbington!

Britt: :) have fun at your detention i’ll see you later

Santana: i will lol. see you

Santana gets to the school five minutes before eight and rushes to the library. There are only three other people there, a girl from her geometry class whose name she can’t remember, a hockey player she’s never talked to, and a boy from her english class that never says anything. She takes a seat at the back table and the teacher, who she’s never seen before, begins calling everyone’s names.

“Okay, good. You’re all here,” she says. “My name’s coach Bieste, I’ll be in charge of you for the next hour. Do homework, study, draw a picture, I don’t care. No phones, no talking, and no getting up without permission. Got it?” They all nod, and coach Bieste nods back before pulling out a book.

Santana sighs before pulling out her own book to read. Since McKinley is a more academically competitive school than West Lima ever was, she decided she would start reading more to help her keep her mind sharp. Specifically, she would be reading more classics, such as Lord Of The Flies, which she was reading now. It was a short book, but interesting. That’s why she was also taking notes on her thoughts of the book. 

An hour later, the girl is staring into space, the hockey player is sleeping, the boy that never talks is drawing, and Santana is finished with her book. Coach Bieste tells them to leave, and since reading for long periods of time always makes her a little sleepy, Santana decides to stop at the Lima Bean on her way to Brittany’s.

She’s waiting for her coffee when she sees her. Santana doesn’t know what to do at first. She could just leave the store, and run as fast as she can to her car, but then her coffee would be left, and she would know. So, Santana does the most terrifying thing she’s ever done.

“Mami?” She says, tapping her mother on the shoulder.

Her mother turns, eyes wide. “What are you doing here?” She sounds angry.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I’m meeting someone for coffee. Am I not allowed to do that?”

“You can do whatever you want, just like I can,” Santana shrugs, already regretting her choice to talk to her mother.

“Why are you talking to me, Santana? Have you come to tell me you finally have a boyfriend?”

“Mami, we’ve been over this. I like girls, not boys,” Santana sighs.

“Do not speak of your sin to me, Santana! I made myself very clear when you first told me your ‘secret’.”

“I know mami, but it’s been over a month already!” Santana’s name is called and she collects her drink.

“I don’t care how long it’s been! And stop calling me ‘mami’! You stopped being my daughter when you made your choice!” Maribel hisses. “Now leave! I am meeting a man for a date, and I don’t want you here to distract me.”

Santana is shaking now, and doesn’t say a word as she rushes out of the store. She can’t breathe, can’t think, can’t calm down. She manages to make it to her car, but she’s crying now. There’s no way she can drive. She can’t believe her mother said that. She doesn’t know what to do. She wants to hide, wants to crawl into a dark space and curl into a ball and sob until the pain stops. But then she hears her phone ding, and sees she has three texts. One from Brittany, one from Maria, and one from an unknown number. Her hands are shaky as she begins typing back.

Maria: Did you leave already? I know you said you were spending the day with your friend but I thought that was later?

Santana: Yeah, I woke up early though so I decided to go out for coffee. Headed over to Brittany’s now.

Maria: Oh, ok. Have fun!

Unknown: hey it’s Ezra. Quinn gave me your number and i was wondering if you wanted to hang out today?

Santana: hey, sorry can’t today. i promised Britt we’d hang. another time?

Britt: Lord Tubbington can’t wait to meet you :)

Santana: tell him i’m on my way :)

Santana decides she’s going to be strong. Her mother wants her to feel alone, and weak, and wrong. She won’t let her. 

Ezra: damn ok we can definitely hang out some other time. talk to you later

Britt: yay! we’re both excited now! :)

Santana smiles and wipes her tears away. She fixes her running makeup and her hair before taking one last deep breath and heading over to Brittany’s house, telling herself she’s going to be strong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the latest chapter. Sorry if it took longer than expected to get this uploaded, school's been crazy. Anyway, the fic is getting pretty long now, but I like where it's going. I also have an idea for another fic, possibly a series, so I've started working on that. Hope you guys enjoy so far.


	7. Sad Vibes and Panicky Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Santana's conversation with her mother.

When she opens the door, Brittany can immediately tell something’s off with Santana. Even though she’s smiling, she seems emotionally tired, and her eyes are a little red.

“What’s wrong?” She asks, worried for Santana.

Her face falls. “What? What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong,” she says quickly. Too quickly.

Brittany shakes her head. “Yeah, no,” she says, shutting the door behind Santana. “Something’s wrong Santana. You may have fixed your makeup, but your eyes are still red and you have a sad vibe right now.”

“A ‘sad vibe’?” Santana asks, sitting on the couch next to Brittany.

She nods. “Yep. So tell me, what’s wrong? And don’t worry about anyone hearing, it’s just you and me. And Lord Tubbington, but he’s napping.”

Santana sighs. “I ran into my mom at the Lima Bean.”

“Oh. Why’d that make you sad?”

“Brittany, what I’m about to tell you is top secret, okay? Nobody at school other than Puck knows, so you can’t tell anyone, even Quinn.”

“I promise I’ll keep it secret,” she says, holding out her pinky. Santana smiles before hooking her own through it, sealing the pinky promise.

She takes a deep breath. “Okay, so up until about a month ago, I mostly lived with my mom and abuela in Lima Heights, except every other weekend when I would live with my dad.”

Brittany nods. “Your parents are divorced, right?”

“Yeah,” Santana nods. “Anyways, now I live full time with my dad and step mom. And three half siblings. Also about a month ago, my mom and abuela found out I’m gay.”

“It didn’t go well, did it?”

Santana nods again. “They, uh, they kicked me out. They said they didn’t want to see me again until I was ‘ready to stop sinning’.”

“Oh honey,” Brittany says, pulling Santana, who was now crying, into a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

“When I saw my mom at the Lima Bean, I tried talking to her. She was mad right away, and asked me if I had a boyfriend yet. When I reminded her that I like girls, she got even angrier and told me I wasn’t her daughter anymore.”

Brittany gasps, her heart breaking. “How could she say that to you?”

Santana shrugs sadly. “I guess I’m just a terrible daughter. I mean, both of my parents have tried to cut me out.”

“What do you mean?” Brittany asks and Santana explains about her dad’s affair.

“There’s got to be something wrong with me, right? Something that makes everyone I love hate me,” Santana says, mostly to herself. “Everyone leaves me. I’m completely unlovable.” Santana’s breathing is becoming irregular, and Brittany is getting worried.

“Santana? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Santana shakes her head. She’s shaking now. “My bag, there’s some pills.”

Brittany nods, and looks in Santana’s purse. She finds two pill bottles. “This it?”

Santana shakes her head. “Other one. Give me a pill.”

Brittany hands her a small pill and she takes it dry. The shaking and messed up breathing still haven’t stopped though.

Santana closes her eyes and begins muttering “4, 7, 8,” over and over again. She’s breathing deeply now, and soon the shaking stops and her breathing is normal.

“Are you okay now?” Brittany asks after a moment.

“Yeah,” Santana nods, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Sorry about that. Whenever I get really anxious I sometimes have panic attacks.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Brittany says with a soft smile. “Is that what the pills are for, to help with your anxiety?”

“Yeah. I take one every morning, but if I get too stressed or anxious throughout the day I have to take more. The 4, 7, 8, thing is a breathing exercise to help me calm down.”

“Is this another top secret thing that only Puck knows?” Brittany asks, figuring Santana would want to keep something like this under wraps.

She nods. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anybody,” she says with a weak smile.

Brittany smiles back. “Your secret is safe with me. Now, how would you like to meet Lord Tubbington?”

“I would love to Britt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I've been updating less and less lately, mostly because school is kicking my butt right now and I'm suffering writer's block. Yay. Anyways, enjoy.


	8. Pasta and a Pool Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santana has lunch with her dad and step mom before hanging out with the glee kids.

Santana spends the rest of the day with Brittany, and even ends up spending the night. She also gets to meet Brittany’s family. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce were very nice, if a bit strange, and Brittany’s younger sister Zoey was adorable. She also already knew who Santana was, since she was friends with Mateo and had seen her occasionally when she would come over.

Sunday, however, was not a good day. She had to leave Brittany’s house early, since she had promised Maria and her dad they’d have lunch together. At first, it had seemed like a good idea, but of course, her dad had to ruin it.

It was just the three of them in the car, and they were talking about school. More specifically, how Santana felt about McKinley. It was going fine, and then Maria brought up the Cheerios.

“So, Santana, when were you going to tell us you were a cheerleader?” Her step mother asks with an excited smile.

She can see her dad raise his eyebrow in the rearview mirror. “You’re a cheerleader? Since when?”

“Since Friday, papi. A couple of my new friends helped me try out.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” He asks. “Do they know that you… like girls?”

Santana sighs. Her dad may claim he was okay with her sexuality, but he was still weird about it. “I’m sure most of them do by now, I already told my two friends that are on the squad. One of them likes girls and boys, and after my tryout I met a cheerleader named Ezra. I’m pretty sure she was flirting with me.”

“Okay then. But remember, you can’t stare at the girls when they change. You might make them uncomfortable.”

“Luis!” Maria hisses, smacking him on the shoulder.

“Papi, I’m not attracted to every single girl I meet, and I know not to stare at them,” Santana says, rolling her eyes. They fell into silence, which was bad for Santana, as it allowed the dark thoughts to creep in.

By the time they arrived at Olive Garden, Santana’s anxiety levels were high again. She immediately excused herself and took another pill in the bathroom, hoping to calm her nerves. Her dad’s comments had stressed her out. What if the other girls weren’t okay with her being there? What if she wasn’t actually a Cheerio, and this was all some elaborate prank? What if she was destined to be alone and friendless? What if she wasn’t skinny enough to be a Cheerio? What if she wasn’t good enough? When she returned to their table, she could still feel a pit in her stomach.

She barely touched her food throughout the lunch. When Maria asked her what was wrong, she made up an excuse about being full from Sue’s rigorous cleanse diet. In reality, Santana felt like she’d throw up if she ate.

“Santana, I have something to tell you,” her dad says when the conversation dies down a bit. He sounds serious, which worries Santana. “It’s about your mami.”

Santana can feel her heart rate speeding up. “What about her?”

Her dad looks at Maria, who gives him an encouraging nod. “Well, last week she called to tell me that she’s started seeing someone. They’ve actually been dating for almost a month now.”

“Oh,” Santana says, relieved that’s all it was. She decides not to reveal she already knew her mother- no Maribel, was already dating again. They would ask how she knew and she didn’t feel like having a breakdown in Olive Garden right now.

“Santana, are you okay?” Maria asks gently.

“What? Yeah. She can do whatever she wants.”

“You know,” her dad begins. Santana can feel dread sinking in again. “It’s been almost a month since you’ve seen your mami and abuela. How would you feel about having dinner with them?”

“You can’t be serious,” Santana says, looking at her dad like he’s crazy. “They told me they never wanted to see me again papi, no way am I having dinner with them.”

“Okay, okay,” he says, putting his hands up in surrender. “It was just a suggestion. I think it would be good for you.”

“But,” Maria cuts in. “We understand if you need more time before you’re ready to see them again.”

“Good, cause I’m not ready,” Santana says, slightly angry now. Her dad and Maria seem to sense her anger, because they spend the rest of the meal in silence.

When they’re in the car, Santana gets a text in the glee club group chat. It was mainly used by Rachel and Kurt, but this message was from Quinn.

Quinn: Hey so I’m hella bored rn. How would you guys like to come swim in my pool.

Puck: depends. will there be alcohol?

Quinn: Of course not dumbass. We have school tomorrow and I am not doing that spanish test hungover.

Puck: fair enough. i’ll go if everyone else does.

Mercedes: I’m free

Artie: Same

Finn: i’m down

Tina: I’ll go and Kurt says he will too

Everyone replies saying they’ll be there, and Santana is still trying to decide if she’s up for it or not when she gets a text from Brittany.

Britt: hey you going to Quinn’s?

Santana: idk. are you?

Britt: i’ll go if you do lol

Santana: ig i’ll go. i kinda don’t wanna be around my dad rn anyway.

Britt: yay!! ig i’ll see you in a little bit :)

Santana: see you lol

Santana replies to the group that she’s going, and then informs Maria and her dad. They’re both fine with it, mainly because they want Santana to make friends. She quickly changes into her bathing suit and grabs a towel, change of clothes, and sunglasses. Then she heads over to Quinn’s.

“Santana! You made it!” Puck exclaims when she walks into the backyard area. Almost everyone is already there, except for Tina and Kurt, who had texted saying they were running late.

“I love your bathing suit,” Quinn says, walking up to her. Santana is wearing a black bikini, which is way more revealing than Quinn’s red one piece.

“Thanks,” Santana smiles. She sits down in one of the lounge chairs, deciding on sunbathing for a bit before getting in the water. She was a bit nervous about being around everyone in a bathing suit, worried that they would ask about the scarring on her legs, ribcage, and stomach. Thankfully no one did.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Brittany asks, swimming to the edge of the pool and looking up at Santana.

“I’m sunbathing, duh,” Santana laughs.

“I know that, I meant why don’t you come in the water?”

Santana shrugs. “I might in a minute.”

“Or you could now,” Brittany pouts. Santana laughs and rolls her eyes.

“Fine,” she says, slipping into the water with Brittany. She cheers, and they all hang out for a while.

A couple hours later, most of them are either in the hot tub or just sitting around the edge of the pool. Santana is sitting on a lounge chair, with Brittany and Quinn on either side of her.

“Hey, come to the kitchen with me,” Quinn says quietly while Brittany talks to Artie. Santana sighs but stands.

“What’s up?” She asks, leaning against the kitchen island.

“I haven’t told Finn yet,” Quinn says. Santana can tell she’s panicking.

“Haven’t told him what? That you’re pregnant or that it isn’t his baby?”

“I haven’t told him anything! I mean, what am I supposed to say?” Quinn is pacing now and making gestures as she speaks. “Do I just walk up to him and go ‘oh hey Finn, I know you’re totally in love with me, but I’m pregnant with your best friend's baby!’ He’d freak out!”

“You’re pregnant?” A voice says behind them. The two girls turn, both panicking, to see Tina standing there.

“Shit!” Quinn curses. Santana walks towards the girl. She needs to convince her to keep quiet.

“Alright listen, stutter,” she says angrily, getting in Tina’s face. “Whatever you think you just heard, forget it. You won’t be talking about it with anyone. Not with the glee club, not with Finn, not with me, and not with Quinn. If you do I will go all Lima Heights on you. I may have protected your ass from Karofsky, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe from me. Got it?”

Tina nods quickly. “G-got it.”

Santana smiles sweetly. “Good. Now why don’t you finish up in here so Quinn and I can continue our private conversation.”

Tina nods again and grabs a dr.pepper before rushing out of the room.

“Alright,” Santana says, turning to Quinn. ‘Now that that’s taken care of, you just need to tell Finn the truth. Tell him that you still love him, and that you made a stupid mistake. Tell him that even though the baby is Puck’s, you want to be with him, apologize to him, and ask if he’ll consider helping you through this.”

“And then what?”

“Tell him to take time to think about it. If you expect a decision right then and there, he’ll probably do something he’ll regret later.”

“How the hell are you so smart?” Quinn asks with a smile.

“Experience, Quinn. Experience.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I meant to post this on the 17th, but school is still a lot. I'm technically already behind in one of my AP classes, but it's fine. But yeah. Chapter updates are probably gonna slow down more, especially since I'm usually too tired after school and stuff to write anything so sorry about that. I'm also kinda stuck rn and also working out two other fanfics, but don't worry I'll still finish this one. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, pretty soon they're gonna start getting longer.


	9. So Many Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santana's week is full of crazy changes, some good, some bad.

Another week had passed since the pool party with the glee club, and things were great for Santana. She had become closer than ever to both Quinn and Brittany, and people had dubbed them the ‘Unholy Trinity’. The name suited them though, since wherever they went, they caused chaos in people's lives. Santana had also become closer with Ezra, who was texting her more and more. They had even hung out after school once, which for some reason annoyed Brittany.

The biggest thing, however, was Matt moving. He had said a while back that his parents were looking for a new house, and apparently this week would be his last at McKinley. This didn’t really bother Santana. He was always quiet, so she had never really spoken to him. She still went to his going away party though.

Matt’s move left the New Directioners one member short, which was why they were currently in the courtyard, singing. They were trying to get more members, or at least one more. The fact that they were one person short had really upset a lot of them, seeing as Santana had been the twelfth member needed just a few weeks ago, and now they had to find another person. 

Luckily, they caught the attention of Sam Evans, who was new to McKinley that year. He showed up at the choir room and auditioned. Santana immediately noticed he was a huge dork and dubbed him ‘Trouty Mouth’ because of his huge lips. Santana also noticed that he kept looking at Quinn. That was bad news, seeing as Quinn’s life was very complicated already. She had told Finn she was pregnant, but hadn’t told him it was Puck’s baby. Puck had figured out it was his anyway and ended up telling Mercedes in a moment of frustration, and she ended up telling the whole glee club. Well, except for Rachel. They knew if Rachel found out she’d go blabbing to Finn so she could break him and Quinn up.

Suffice it to say Quinn didn’t need trouty mouth crushing on her. That would only complicate things further, and turn the love square she was in into a love pentagon. That would be more confusing than ever. Santana decided to keep an eye on Sam to make sure he didn’t try anything.

Then Thursday happened, and everything changed.

It was the last few minutes of sixth period, and the Cheerios were all in the locker room showering after Coach Sylvester had worked them tirelessly on their routine. They were all exhausted, and ready to leave so they could get seventh period over with. Then something happened.

“Q, can I see you in my office? Santana, you too,” Sue says, making both girls worry. They exchange glances.

“What do you think she wants?” Santana asks.

Quinn shrugs. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” Santana nods, and they walk together to Sue’s office, leaving Brittany to wait for them.

“Don’t bother sitting,” Sue says when they enter the room. “This will be a brief conversation.”

“What’s going on?” Quinn asks.

“A change in leadership. It has come to my attention that you, Quinn Fabray, are pregnant. Don’t bother showing up for practice after school and turn in all Cheerios items you have been issued. You’re off the squad.”

“What-” Quinn starts in disbelief.

“Santana, you’ll be taking her place as head Cheerio. I’ve been impressed with your brutally honest ways, and I think you’ll make a great leader.”

“Uh… thanks,” Santana says dumbly. Sue motions for them to leave, and Santana notices Quinn’s tears.

“I can’t believe this,” Quinn cries.

“Ah shit- Quinn, I’m sorry,” Santana tries. She puts a hand on her friend’s shoulder, but Quinn jerks away. She looks at her with tear filled eyes before running off, still crying.

“What happened?” Brittany asks, walking over to Santana.

“Sue found out Quinn’s pregnant and kicked her off the squad,” Santana says sadly, still staring after Quinn.

“Who’s head Cheerio now?”

Santana looks at Brittany. “I am.”

Quinn doesn’t show up to seventh period, which causes Santana and Brittany to worry. They try texting her, but receive no reply, worrying them further. During practice, Santana does her best to lead the Cheerios to impress Sue, which puts all thoughts of Quinn out of her mind. She feels awful about what happened, but knows that if she doesn’t step up, she’ll be sharing Quinn’s fate.

After practice, things got weirder for Santana. She had been talking to Coach Sylvester about her new responsibilities as captain, so when she got to the locker room it was mostly empty. The only ones left were Brittany, Ezra, and a couple of girls that were friends with Ezra. Santana knew Brittany was ready to go and was just waiting for her, so she smiled at the girl.

“I’ll be fine Britt, you can go.”

“Nah, I’ll wait for you,” she says, smiling back. Santana is grateful for her friend, and tries to hurry in the shower. When she does step out, she finds only Ezra in the locker room with her.

“I think Britt went to go grab something from her locker, she said she’d be right back,” Ezra tells her while checking her out.

Santana smirks. “Like what you see?”

“Oh you have no idea Lopez.” Ezra then surprises Santana by stepping forward and cupping her face. Santana’s eyes flutter closed as Ezra kisses her. She’s surprised for a moment, and even more surprised when she kisses back. They pull away after a moment, and Ezra is smiling.

“That was nice.”

“Yeah, it was. It was also a one time thing,” Santana says.

“What? Why? Are you seeing someone?”

“No. I don’t do relationships, Ezra. No commitment, no feelings, no heartbreak.”

Ezra smiles again. “Alright, so we aren’t exclusive. Doesn’t mean we can’t still hook up.”

“I’ll consider it. See you tomorrow, Ezra.” With that Santana leaves, heading to Brittany’s locker. 

She’s shocked to find Brittany in the hall with Artie, laughing about something. Santana is about to make her presence known when Brittany leans down and kisses Artie. Santana doesn’t know why, but the sight makes her sick to her stomach. She had thought Brittany was flirting with her, but apparently not if she was with wheels. 

“Hey you okay?” Santana turns to see Ezra behind her. “Santana?” She cuts her off with a kiss.

“Hookups only,” she whispers as she pulls away. She walks past a stunned Brittany and Artie on her way out, and ignores Brittany when she calls her name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm like hella tired at the time I'm posting this, but I still wanted to get it up cause I want to stick to some kind of schedule. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy.


	10. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santana and Ezra's "relationship" is made public and Quinn isn't at school

On Friday, Brittany walks up to Santana at her locker, looking upset.

“Are you mad at me? You didn’t return any of my texts last night.”

“Why would I be mad at you Britt?” Santana asks with a slight laugh. “I just had a lot of studying to do last night. Everyone at McKinley is insanely smart, and I have to work hard to keep up.” It’s not a total lie, she did have to work harder to keep up, but she was also upset with Brittany. That’s why she hadn’t returned her texts, instead she had gone home and lied in bed for hours and refused to see anyone.

“Oh, good cause I was worried we were fighting,” Brittany says, brightening instantly.

Santana shakes her head. “So, you and Artie, huh?”

“Yeah. He asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes.” Brittany gasps suddenly, as if an idea has just popped into her head. “We can go on double dates with you and Ezra!”

“Ezra and I aren’t dating Britt.”

Brittany tilts her head, clearly confused. “You’re not? But you kissed her in the hall after practice yesterday?”

“Yeah, we make out and hookup, but that’s it. No dates, no feelings, no commitment,” Santana explains, shutting her locker and walking towards geometry.

“That’s kinda weird,”

Santana just shrugs. “It works for us. I’m happy for you and Artie though, and I’ll see you later,” the two wave goodbye as Santana walks into geometry and Brittany goes to find Artie.

“Have you seen Quinn today? We were supposed to meet before class but she wasn’t there,” Puck asks her as soon as she sits down.

“I haven’t seen her since yesterday, and she hasn’t been replying to any of my texts or calls.”

“Did something happen?”

Santana looks around, making sure no one is listening before leaning closer to Puck. “Sue kicked her off the squad yesterday,” she says, voice barely above a whisper.

“Holy shit,” Puck whispers back. “Who’s head Cheerio now?”

Santana gives him a pointed look, and his eyes widen.

“You?” He asks incredulously.

“Yep. That’s probably why she doesn’t want to talk to me, I mean I stole her place as head Cheerio and probably HBIC too.”

“Holy shit,” Puck whispers again, mostly to himself, as he turns to face the front of the class.

Quinn isn’t in spanish and apparently wasn’t responding to Brittany either. The two decided to check up on her after glee. Santana was worried Quinn would be mad at her, but Brittany assured her it would be fine.

At lunch, Brittany sat next to Artie instead of Santana, like she usually did. Santana again felt that sickening feeling as she watched them share food and make out a bit, and she wanted nothing more than to get out of there. Luckily Ezra wanted her attention and walked up to the glee table. 

“Hi,” Santana smiled, tilting her head all the way back to look up at Ezra. She smiles back and presses her lips against Santana’s.

“Hi yourself.”

“Wait are you two a thing now?” Puck asks, gesturing at the two with a french fry in hand.

Santana shakes her head. “Not officially.”

“Yeah,” Ezra adds. “Hookups only. No commitment.”

Santana stands. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Wait where are you going?” Brittany asks, staring at Santana.

“To take care of business,” she replies with a smug smile.

“I like the sound of that,” Ezra says, letting Santana lead her to an empty classroom.

The two makeout for the rest of lunch, and Ezra wants Santana to stay for study hall, but she couldn’t. She was supposed to go to the choir room for glee.

“I’ll see you later Ezra. Maybe if you’re lucky we’ll do more of this after practice on tuesday,” she says, leaving Ezra alone in the classroom.

“So, how was ‘business’?” Puck asks as she takes her normal seat next to him.

“She was alright. I think she wants more though,” Santana says with a shrug. “I told her I don’t do relationships, so I don’t know why she’s getting her hopes up. I’ll probably end it soon.”

“Ezra’s hot though,” Puck defends.

“Yeah but relationships are just another way to get hurt, and there is no way in hell I’m giving anyone the power to hurt me right now.”

“Suit yourself,” Puck says with a shrug. “Personally I’m trying to get one girl to give me a chance, but she won’t budge.”

“Gee I wonder why,” Santana says, rolling her eyes. She’s about to say more when Brittany walks in. Typically this wouldn’t render her speechless, but when Brittany goes to sit next to Artie in the front instead of the back next to her, she has no words.

Puck looks between the two, instantly noticing Santana’s change in mood. “I thought you didn’t do relationships.”

Santana looks at him in alarm. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh come on,” Puck snorts. “You’re so obvious. Or at least to me you are.”

“Shut up,” Santana growls.

“Whatever.” They don’t talk for the rest of the period, mainly because Puck knows what happens when Santana gets pissed off and he doesn’t want the glee club to hear all of his most embarrassing moments.

Santana is still angry by sixth period, so she takes it out on the Cheerios by making them work harder than ever. Brittany and Ezra seem to sense her anger, and ask her what’s wrong but she just brushes them off. Everyone complains at first, but stops after Santana yells at them for being weak. That was probably a bad move, seeing as they all send glares her way when she finally allows them to hit the showers, but Coach Sylvester seems impressed.

“That was fine leadership Lopez. I see I made the right choice, keep it up,” she says, patting Santana on the shoulder. She just nods in response and showers quickly so she can get out of there.

She decides to skip chemistry, instead opting to hide out in the library. She gets a text from Brittany asking where she is, and Santana decides she may as well tell her. She hates upsetting Brittany.

“So why are we skipping?” Brittany asks quietly as she takes a seat across from Santana.

“Just didn’t feel like going I guess,” Santana says with a shrug.

“We’re still going to glee though, right?”

“Yeah, we can go to glee and then we’ll check on Quinn.”

“Good, I’m worried about her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I'm thinking of uploading other fics I'm writing, let me know if you guys would be interested in other works from me.


	11. Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some unholy trinity bonding because we love them.

It turns out everyone was right in worrying about Quinn.

When Santana and Brittany got to her house, it was Quinn’s mother that answered. She told them Quinn had been in her room all day, and wouldn’t let anyone in. The two girls thanked Mrs. Fabray and went upstairs to try and coax Quinn out, or at least convince her to let them in.

“Quinn, come on you can talk to us!” Brittany calls, knocking on the door again. 

“Alright that’s it,” Santana says, annoyed when there’s no answer. She pulls two bobby pins out of her hair and bends them before sticking them in the lock.

“Wait, are you picking the lock?” Brittany asks, worried that Quinn might get angry at them for barging in.

“Yep.”

“Where’d you learn to do that?”

Santana shrugs a little. “Lima Heights is not a nice place to live Britt.” The door unlocks. “Quinn,” Santana calls loudly, making sure she could hear her. “Britt and I are coming in now, so make sure you’re decent!” They open the door to find the lights off and the curtains closed, casting the whole room in shadow.

“Quinn?” Brittany calls quietly, walking over to the bed where a Quinn-sized lump is covered in blankets.

“How’d you get in here?” Quinn asks. Brittany and Santana exchange a look. She’s definitely been crying.

“Santana picked the lock,” Brittany says softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

They hear a snort. “You know how to pick locks?”

“Uh, yeah. A friend taught me so we could break into his older brother’s room. Plus I thought it would impress girls.”

Quinn sits up, and the covers fall away. Her hair is a mess and her eyes are red and her face is flushed, but she’s smiling. “You learned to pick locks so you could get a girlfriend.”

Santana blushes slightly. “No! I learned so I could steal from my friend’s brother’s secret stash of booze when I was fourteen.”

Brittany and Quinn are both grinning at her now.

“You totally did it to get girls!” Brittany exclaims, laughing.

“I did not!” Santana says, reddening more.

“Oh my god, Santana Lopez is blushing! This is priceless!” Quinn gasps.

“Whatever,” Santana mutters. “We came to check on you, not delve into the reasons for my past criminal activity.”

“Oh yeah,” Brittany says, still laughing slightly. “You weren’t at school today. How come?”

Quinn sighs. “I was feeling bummed about the whole Cheerios thing. Not that I hold anything against you Santana,” she adds, seeing Santana’s nervous look.

“Oh, uh yeah. Thanks.”

“Look, I know it wasn’t your fault and I’m glad you got made captain. I mean, you’re probably the best choice. No offence Britt.”

“Santana is the best choice,” Brittany says, smiling at her. “You should’ve seen her today. She was yelling and making us work harder than ever. Macey almost cried.”

“Yeah, well Macey’s a weak bitch,” Santana says making Quinn laugh.

“You know, now that you’re captain of the Cheerios you’ll probably be top dog at McKinley,” Quinn says. “Good luck with that, it’s a shit show.”

“Well you could always take the position back,” Santana says. She doesn’t actually want the top dog spot. Sure, she wants to rule the school, but as the top dog’s number two. The HBIC always got the most attention, and if Santana wanted to keep out of trouble she couldn’t have that.

Quinn just shakes her head. “Pretty soon the baby bump will show and everyone’s gonna know I’m pregnant. My popularity already took a major hit from getting kicked off Cheerios, and now that I’m only in glee and pregnant with my boyfriend’s best friend’s baby, people are gonna be giving me slushie facials more often.”

“We’ll help you through this Quinn,” Brittany says, putting her hand over Quinn’s.

Again, Quinn shakes her head. “It’s probably best if you keep your distance from me. Your reputations will take a hit if you’re seen with me all the time.”

Santana smiles softly at her friend. “Thanks for looking out for us, but we’re still gonna help you. Just let me know who’s ass needs kicking and I’ll get it done.”

Quinn smiles, and it’s a real, genuine one with no sad looks behind her eyes. “Thanks guys. For everything. I’ll be back at school Monday.”

“Good,” Brittany says, hugging her. “We missed you.”

“I missed you guys too. Now can you please leave so I can take a shower. I feel gross.”

“You got it blondie. See you Monday.” They both say goodbye to Quinn and then her mom before heading outside.

“She’s gonna be okay, right?” Brittany asks as they walk to their separate cars.

“For now, yeah. But we’ll see,” Santana says before getting into her car and waving goodbye to Brittany. On the drive home, she thinks about what Quinn said about being top dog at McKinley, about it being a shit show. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but one thing was for certain: she was gonna need way more pills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So at the time of me posting this, Moving on Up has over 1100 hits, which is just insane. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but I never actually imagined people would want to read what I write, so thank you guys. I actually really enjoy writing glee fanfic, even though I only started watching glee during quarantine because I knew there was a lesbian character and my little gay self was desperate for some lesbian content. But yeah, as always, hope you enjoyed.


	12. Brittany's Side Of Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief look into Brittany's head.

Friday was confusing for Brittany. Well, really all of the confusion started at the end of Cheerios practice on Thursday. She was waiting for Santana to finish showering when she remembered she left her car keys in her locker. She had told Ezra she’d be right back, just in case Santana finished and thought Brittany had left her.

When she got back to the locker room she didn’t like what she saw.

It was Ezra and Santana, kissing. Brittany didn’t say anything, just turned and left. She felt angry at Ezra for kissing Santana. She wished Santana was kissing her instead. She was jealous, and she needed a distraction from it now. Luckily she spotted Artie in the hall.

Earlier that day, he had asked her out on a date and she had said no. But that was when she was still holding out hope for Santana. 

“Hey Brittany!” Artie says, rolling up to her.

“Hi! Remember when you asked me out earlier?” Brittany giggles.

“Yeah,” Artie laughs, “I do.”

“Well, I changed my answer.” She doesn’t give him time to respond, she kisses him instead. She pulls away when she hears a voice behind her, and turns just in time to see Santana kissing Ezra again before pulling away and whispering something to her. “Santana-” Brittany calls as the girl walks away, but she’s ignored.

Brittany tries texting Santana all night, but gets no responses. She definitely upset Santana, and she feels bad about it, but she’s not sure what exactly it was that she did. Was it possible Santana was upset that Brittany had kissed Artie? Maybe. But then why had she kissed Ezra? Was it to make Brittany jealous too? After several hours of thinking that left her with a headache, Brittany decided to just ask Santana the next day.

And that’s exactly what she does. She’s happy when Santana says she’s not upset with her, even though she’s pretty sure Santana’s lying. She doesn’t bring it up again, she’s just glad Santana is talking to her. The biggest confusion is when Santana tells Brittany that she’s not dating Ezra.

That meant Brittany could still have a chance with her. Except now she was going out with Artie, who was actually kind of nice. But Santana was so pretty, and she wasn’t dating Ezra. But what if Santana didn’t want to date anyone, just hookup? Did Brittany want to do that? She wasn’t sure, so she decided to just stick with Artie until she figured it out.

At lunch, Brittany sits next to Artie and they share food and kiss a little bit. She’s pretty sure Santana is upset by that, but she’s not sure if it’s because she’s jealous or not. Then Ezra comes over to their table. Brittany is hating Ezra more and more, and when she kisses Santana she can’t help the jealousy she feels. She’s about to go back to kissing Artie, but Santana stands up.

“I’ll see you guys later,” she says, causing Brittany to panic. How was she supposed to figure out if Santana was jealous of Artie if Santana wasn’t here?

“Wait where are you going?” She asks, staring at Santana and silently willing her to stay. She has to stay.

“To take care of business,” Santana says. She looks happy that Brittany’s asking her, as if she does want to make her jealous.

“I like the sound of that,” Ezra says, staring at Santana’s lips. Brittany wishes she could openly stare at Santana’s lips. Why can’t she stare at Santana’s lips again? Oh right, because of Artie and Ezra. How did she get herself into this mess?

Brittany is still wondering that when she takes a seat up front next to Artie in glee, instead of her usual spot by Santana. She’s pretty sure she can feel Santana staring at her, but she doesn’t want to look back in case Santana figures out she’s only doing all of this to make her jealous. Maybe she shouldn’t be doing it though, because it’ll only end up hurting Artie, Ezra, herself, and worst of all, Santana. She couldn’t bear it if she hurt Santana. She again thinks about this the entire class period, but can’t come to a decision.

In gym class Santana is angry, and Brittany can tell. She’s pushing the Cheerios harder than ever and yelling at everyone. Brittany tries to ask what’s wrong, but Santana won’t tell her. Maybe she is jealous. Brittany decides to ask her in the locker room, but Santana rushes out before she can. She’s sad for a moment before remembering they still have chemistry together next period and that she can ask her then. Her plans are ruined when Santana doesn’t show up for class.

Brittany texts Santana to ask where she is, and is surprised to get a reply. She sneaks out of class when Mrs. Khan falls asleep at her desk, which is something that actually happens a lot, and meets Santana in the library.

When she gets there she asks why they were skipping, to which Santana replies she just didn’t feel like going. She asks if they’ll still go to glee, and Santana says they will and then they’ll go check on Quinn. Brittany was going to ask her something else, but Santana leans back in her chair, eyes closed, and Brittany can’t help but stare at her. She looks so peaceful, so beautiful, that Brittany completely forgets what she was going to ask.

It isn’t until much later, when she’s lying in bed, that Brittany remembers what she wanted to ask Santana. They had gone to see Quinn, who had promised she’d go to school Monday, and it had been an interesting time. Quinn had made Santana blush after saying Santana had only learned to pick locks to get a girlfriend. Brittany had thought she looked adorable when she blushed, and had also been very impressed with her lock picking skills. But of course she hadn’t said any of that. Now that she remembers what she wants to ask Santana, she decides she’s going to text her in the morning to hang out.

She forgets all about her plans when Artie texts her first thing in the morning, asking about their date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know this is kind of late, but I've been busy so sorry. I'm working on other fics too, and I think I have one that's almost ready to be posted, so look out for that. Also, I've started watching the 100 and I have a lot of Clexa feels, so I may be writing some Clexa fics too. As always, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter of Moving On Up. Let me know what you guys think. I have more chapters already written and a general idea of where I want this to go, so let me know if you want to see more. I'm not sure how long it'll be yet, but expect at least four more chapters soon. This first chapter will probably be the longest out of all of them though.


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